


Prompt: Laced Drink

by Rangergirl3



Series: Whumptober 2019 [21]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Whump, Protective Hunk (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22706062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangergirl3/pseuds/Rangergirl3
Summary: Lance, as always, is sociable and easily likable at parties.Keith is not.
Relationships: Allura & Keith (Voltron), Coran & Keith (Voltron), Hunk & Keith (Voltron), Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Whumptober 2019 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1506101
Comments: 41
Kudos: 350





	1. Chapter 1

Pidge sighed, glancing over at Keith.

“How much longer do you think this’ll take?”

He shrugged, keeping his arms crossed.

“Difficult to tell. Maybe another hour?”

Pidge let out another sigh.

“Ugh, I wish these things didn’t take so long.”

Privately, Keith agreed with her. Diplomacy just wasn’t either of their strong points.

Sure, he could stab or slice his way out of most fights, and she could hack just about any system they'd ever come across.

But parties?

Not so much.

It was just another diplomatic dinner/Coalition meeting, and, as always, it was depressingly predictable. Lance ended up talking to everyone and being the usual life of the party, Hunk was examining and, seemingly, enjoying the local cuisine, and Shiro and Allura and Coran were all in deep discussion with the planet’s leaders.

None of which was bad, exactly, but...it just got so _boring_ after awhile. Still, at least the two introverts could stand shoulder to shoulder in a somewhat removed corner of the meeting area in relative peace and quiet.

On the other side of the room, Lance was in his element, surrounded by smiling people who laughed at his jokes and at his enthusiasm for learning more about their culture.

“This food is amazing!” Lance said. He looked at the drink tray that was offered to him, and a wide and genuine smile crossed his face. “Oooh, _wow_ , that blue one’s really pretty! I’d love to try it!”

The Blue Paladin took the glass, raised it in a friendly toast to those around him, and took a sip.

“Dang, that’s _amazing_!” he exclaimed. ”It’s, like, fruit punch and rainbows, all spun together!”

Grinning, he glanced up and waved over at Hunk, who was at the far end of the table, examining an elaborate display of local vegetables, stacked into a fairly accurate likeness of the Altean Castleship.

“Hunk, buddy, come ‘ere! You gotta try this! It’s like, the best lemonade _ever_!”

* * *

Keith felt a little smile cross his face at how genuinely happy Lance was at trying something new. The thing about Lance was that even though he could grate on the Red Paladin’s nerves from time to time, he was genuine both in what he said, and in what he did.

Then, something caught his eye.

It happened so quickly, Keith thought he might have imagined it.

* * *

A person standing next to Lance, smiling and laughing with the rest of the crowd, had just reached up and dropped a tablet into the glass in Lance’s hand.

Keith’s reaction was immediate, almost instinctual. He surged forwards, not running, but not walking slowly, either. He pushed his way through the crowd, ignoring the way some of the people glared at the back of his head as he rushed past them. Even now, Lance was raising the glass to his lips once more.

“Lance, stop!”

The glass halted, only an inch or two away from Lance’s mouth. The Blue Paladin turned towards Keith, slightly confused.

“Uh, Keith? Did you - uh, want...something?“

Keith stopped at Lance’s side, reached out for the glass.

“Lance, something’s -“

Startled at the sudden movement, Lance took a few quick paces backwards, confused, still holding the drink in one hand.

“Dude, chill,” he said. “It’s just fruit punch.”

Keith shook his head.

“It’s-“

But Lance interrupted him.

“Keith, stop freaking out. It’s a party. Just relax and try to have some fun, yeah?”

Lance grinned cockily at the Red Paladin and began to turn away, towards Hunk again. But Keith refused to let this slide. It was too important.

“Lance, listen to me, it’s not -“

Lance’s friendly expression went harder, became slightly less genial.

“Keith, come on, man. Just stop worrying. It's a party, just - try to make friends, or something.”

* * *

Hunk was almost halfway to where Lance and Keith stood facing each other, but even from that distance, he saw the way Keith flinched at Lance's words. The expression that crossed the Red Paladin's face was one of bewilderment, even hurt.

Keith's reply was almost inaudible, but Hunk caught it all the same.

"That's not - that's not fair, Lance."

Lance's expression wasn't particularly cruel, but his words were thoughtless, all the same.

"What you need is _practice_ , Keith. You need to get out of your comfort zone."

Lance gestured with his free hand at the crowded room.

"It's a party, for crying out loud. Just - try something different, like having fun for once in your life."

At that, Keith's posture shifted, but not into one of fury, like Hunk had feared. Instead, it seemed - smaller, almost, as if Keith didn't know what to do.

Hunk increased his pace, muttering 'excuse me, pardon, pardon, excuse me,' as he elbowed his way forwards.

This wasn't just another spat between the two of them.

Something was _seriously_ wrong.

* * *

Behind the Blue Paladin’s shoulder, the person who had slipped the tablet into Lance’s drink smirked at Keith.

“Well,” the man said. “At least _we_ can still enjoy the party. It would be rude for a Paladin of Voltron to insult our hospitality by refusing a friendly drink, yes?”

Lance jerked a thumb back towards the speaker, still blissfully unaware of the very real and immanent danger he was in.

“Yeah, what this guy said.”

* * *

_So many people were looking at them now._

Keith clenched his fingers into fists, fought to keep his voice calm, even as every instinct screamed at him to act, to do _something_ , to pull Lance away from the danger he was in.

Yes, Lance's words had been thoughtless, even cruel, but Keith would never, _ever_ allow harm to come to a friend when it lay in his power to prevent it.

_But what could he do?_

The last thing that Voltron needed right now was for the Red Paladin to attack an ally in a diplomatic setting. If Keith tried to knock the glass out of Lance's hand, or went instead for the jackass who had drugged the drink, there was no way that would end well. 

_What could he **do**?_

Keith heard Pidge’s footsteps coming up behind him, saw Hunk moving, very quickly, towards them both. From the other table, he could sense Allura’s gaze coming to rest on him, as if afraid he would do something stupid and put a vital alliance at risk.

**_What could he do?_ **

Lance hadn’t seen that person slip the tablet into his drink. He hadn’t noticed anything suspicious at all. His attention had been on Hunk, and then it had switched to Keith, who had been, seemingly, out to ruin Lance’s fun, 'like always'. And, as far as Keith knew, Pidge hadn’t seen anything, and Hunk was still too far away to take action.

 _Damn the rules of polite society._ _Next time, the Paladins would have their fucking comms, and the fancy party code of conduct could be damned._

"Lance - _please_ , just -"

But Lance was ignoring him, _again_ , turning away to talk to the crowd of people still standing around him.

In that moment, Keith wanted to do several things.

He wanted to slap the glass out Lance’s hand, so it shattered on the floor, so that the laced drink would spill harmlessly onto the ground, but that would mean insulting one of the main dignitaries at this meeting, and Voltron could potentially lose a vital ally in the fight against Zarkon.

He wanted to be better in social situations, like Shiro, or Hunk, or Coran, or Allura, or even Pidge.

He wanted his friend to _listen to him_ , but the Blue Paladin had already begun to raise the glass upwards, to take another sip.

He didn't know what he could do, but he knew that could never just _let_ his friend drink something that had been laced with an unknown substance.

Okay, then.

Fine.

 _Fuck_ it.

* * *

* * *

Hunk was only a few yards away when Lance raised the glass towards his mouth again, begining to turn away from Keith, but still addressing him.

“Well, now that your non-stop paranoia has finally abated, I’ll just - _Hey_! Why the _hell_ would you _-_?!“

Keith had interrupted him by stepping forwards, plucking the glass out of Lance’s hand, and tossing back its contents in one gulp.

* * *

* * *

_It burned like fire, and it tasted like ashes._ _Needless to say, it did not taste **at all** like fruit punch._

* * *

* * *

Lance stared, first at his empty hand, then in growing anger back towards Keith.

“Hey! That was mine!” He hissed, stepping forwards. "Why did you do that?!"

As Hunk reached the two of them, the Yellow Paladin saw Keith make a face before answering in a short, harsh tone, as if the drink had been far too bitter for his taste.

“ _Yep_.”

Lance curled his fingers into his palm, frustrated, annoyed, but trying to contain himself.

“Dude,” he spat, beginning to bristle, “You really are a buzzkill, you know that?”

Keith shrugged a shoulder. “Seems so."

It was only then that Hunk realized that the Red Paladin was still glaring over Lance’s shoulder, at one of the people in the crowd.

Then Hunk was standing between the Red and Blue Paladins, keeping Lance from getting any closer to Keith. Pidge reached them both a moment later, but went immediately to Keith, trying to take the empty glass from his hand.

Hunk, as always, tried to help the situation descalate.

“Lance, it's fine, just -“

Lance glared daggers back at Keith in turn, replying to Hunk in a furious whisper.

“He just took my drink! For no reason at all!”

* * *

* * *

Despite her best efforts, Pidge found that that the Red Paladin still had tight hold of the empty glass. It was as if he refused to let it out of his sight, even for a second.

“Keith, why’d you do that?” She asked. “Everyone’s looking, and Lance is _pissed_ -“

Keith didn’t even look back down at her. He just kept his eyes fixed on a point in the crowd, somewhere directly behind Lance. Pidge huffed in frustration, and then went ‘Ah-hah!’ in triumph as Keith’s fingers finally released their hold on the glass.

“Test it,” he said, in a low voice. ”Test it, _now_ , and don’t drink anything they offer you.”

“What’re you-“ Pidge began, but stopped when she looked, really _looked_ , up into his face. “Keith, what’s - "

Keith shook his head, curtly, as if even that small motion made him feel sick and dizzy.

“The guy standing at Lance’s shoulder put - put s-something in the drink - and he - didn’t want Lance to know -"

Pidge stared back up at Keith, then at the person who was starting to back away, attempting to blend into the crowd.

"He - **_what_**?!"

Keith kept talking, as if he couldn't find the energy to stop. His eyes were beginning to glaze over, and Pidge saw a bead of sweat run down the side of his face.

"-and that- ‘s not - not fair - 's not - right...either..."

Keith's words were becoming more and more difficult to hear clearly, but Hunk was near enough to hear those few final words, and it made him see red.

“ _He did **what**_?!”

Lance, who was still just far enough away _not_ to hear what Keith was saying, nodded, still frustrated at his initial (though incorrect) read of the situation.

“He just took my drink and -“

Hunk turned and, with uncharacteristic force, pushed Lance protectively behind him and then took three furious steps forwards. The crowd parted ahead of him, most of them confused, some of them concerned, and one of them excruciating aware of his own (and now very limited) mortality.

The Yellow Paladin caught up to the man, grabbed hold of his jacket, and yanked him up and off of the ground, slamming the jackass into a nearby wall with enough force to make several glasses rattle on the nearby table.

_**“YOU DID WHAT?!”** _

At the time, Hunk could have sworn he had asked the question calmly, rationally, and at an appropriate volume.

It was only later that he realized that he had shouted it at the top of his voice.

* * *

* * *

Behind him, Hunk heard Lance sputtering in some confusion.

“Wait, _what_?! What the hell’s going on?! What am I missing here? It's like - everyone's had crazy grog, or -"

Allura’s voice came from the head table.

“Paladins! What is the reason for this?”

But the Yellow Paladin was much too angry to speak. His vision was covered in red, and his fingers ached with the strain of holding back from unleashing his full rage on the jackass who had tried to _drug_ Lance, his **best** friend.

Keith still remained standing, but his eyes were half-shut now, and he was holding the side of his head, as if it pained him. Shiro went to his side, even as Pidge spoke, in sharp, harsh words, laying out the situation for the room at large.

The man in Hunk’s grip tried a weak, insincere laugh. “The Red Paladin is - mistaken, clearly,” he said. “There have been no - adverse effects, so -“

* * *

* * *

It was at that moment that Keith’s world went white.

* * *

* * *

One minute, he was standing next to Shiro, and the next...he couldn’t remain standing.

His legs just went out from under him, and after he hit the ground...

He couldn’t feel _anything_.

Even after he'd fallen onto the floor, he couldn’t stop _falling_.

He was falling, down and down and _down_ , and there was nothing he could do to make it stop.

The abrupt and total disconnection between his mind and body was terrifying.

He could still _see_ Shiro, could still hear the shouting and noises all around him, but he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t even feel Shiro’s hand on his shoulder, or the floor beneath his head.

_He couldn’t feel **anything**._

He was falling much too fast. He tried to reach out, to grab on to something, anything, to keep from falling into nothingness, but he couldn’t even move his limbs.

Moments later, the convulsions began.

* * *

* * *

At first, when Keith crumpled to the floor, Lance could only stare in dawning horror and realization at the empty glass Pidge held in her hand.

Then, when he finally spoke, his voice did not sound like his own. It was too harsh, too raspy, too high in pitch. There was no way he could ever sound like that, right? _Right?_

"I...what...?"

* * *

* * *

Pidge's full explanation, when it came, was concise, plainly-spoken, and precisely appropriate to the situation at hand.

She had been fiddling with a small testing kit she’d brought with her, and after what felt like hours, but was only moments, she let out a snarl of rage and darted forwards. She reached the front table, slammed something down on the table in front of Allura and Coran, glaring at the world in general. 

Hell had no fury like a protective Katherine Holt.

“We need to get Keith back to the Castle, _now_ ,” she snarled. “That substance is toxic to humans in even small doses, as this planet, and this _thing_ , is well aware.”

She turned and stomped back towards the jackass who still wriggled in Hunk’s grasp, futively attempting to avoid the consequences of a very, _very_ poor decision to harm an innocent.

“You _tried_ to _drug_ Lance,” she spat. “You _tried_ \- to - _drug_ \- my - **_friend_**.”

By then, she’d reached Hunk, and she radiated pure fury. The Yellow Paladin could have sworn the temperature in the room had gone up by several degrees with the sheer presence of her anger. The Green Paladin’s kick landed right where she’d wanted it too.

“YOU - SLIMY - **FUCKER**!”

The alien's squeal (when he got his breath back) was a lot higher than before, and it petered out completely after the second kick. He had, apparently, run out of wind. Pidge, however, had not, and she followed up with a few more well-aimed, precisely-delivered words, each one punctuated with another kick to a _very_ sensitive portion of alien anatomy.

“You **HURT** my **FRIEND** , _you - fucking - **jackass!!**_!"

Then she stopped, visibly holding herself back, but still seething in rage. It poured off of her in waves. In any setting, it was terrifying.

"Hunk, do me a favor," she said. "Don't let me near this guy again while he's still breathing."

Hunk glanced back towards her. 

"Depends," he says. "I think he could do with some more...of that."

Pidge shook her head, visibly shaking with the effort it took to reign in her anger.

"No. He's not worth any more of our time."

Hunk's teeth were clenched. He was so angry. He didn't feel at all like himself.

"You sure about that?" He gritted out.

The grim expression Pidge aimed at the jackass in that moment was more terrifying than the snarl of a wolf.

"Yeah," she said. "He's nothing more than a waste of time."

She turned away. 

"Keith needs us. Drop him, and let's go. Leave him to the others. They'll handle it."

Hunk nodded, then, after some careful consideration, concentrated on loosening his grip enough to let the bastard hit the ground. It took some doing, as Hunk was both very strong, and still very, _very_ angry. Eventually, though, he managed it.

Then there were more raised voices, some confusion, a lot of movement, and after both Allura and Coran had said a lot of _very_ complicated words in a very calm, steady, and _terrifying_ voice to the planet’s leader, the jackass was dragged off towards what Hunk really hoped was a cell with lots of bats, and mold, and maybe a rat or two, just to keep it interesting, and to keep the jackass up at night until the Coalition decided on what to do with him.

* * *

* * *

Lance was apologizing, and someone at the head table was giving orders, but Keith couldn’t hear the words.

He couldn’t do anything like this, he couldn’t even feel his arms or his legs, 

_he was helpless, he would never get out of here, out of this awful smothering darkness, he'd never see the sky again, he would die alone_

Fingers reached out, clutched at his hand, but Keith couldn’t feel it at all, he couldn’t even get enough air into his lungs as the world tilted and spun about him.

* * *

Keith's eyes were closed tight shut. The full-body spasms had stopped, but the trembling persisted.

“I can’t - I c-can’t - b-breathe -“

Lance didn’t know what to do. He had no idea what to say. Keith was trapped in his own body, and there was nothing Lance could say or do to make it any better.

“I’m sorry, Keith, I’m so sorry -“

Keith’s eyes shot open, but they were glazed, terrified, staring off into space.

"-'s not f-fun - 's _not_ \- 's _n-n-not_ -"

Lance wished he could go back in time and punch himself in the face for saying those things to his friend. 

This wasn't fun.

Something that hurt other people could _never_ be fun.

"No, no, it's not, but - but it's going - to be okay, look - Shiro's - Shiro's here, yeah?"

Keith's eyes flicked over towards where Shiro was holding on to his other hand.

"-n't feel - my arms - Shiro, why c-can't I -?"

Keith’s breathing was shallow, harsh, frantic and desperate.

"I w-want t-to g-go home, I - jus-s-t - I just-"

The words broke off, but tears continued to stream down the side of Keith’s face. 

Lance blinked back tears of his own. Whatever this drug was, it was doing so much worse than just hurting Keith physically. It made him sick and confused and scared, and it wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair at all.


	2. Chapter 2

_A week later_

"So...has Lance talked to you yet?"

Keith glanced back up at Pidge, who was studiously reading her own book in a chair beside his bed.

"I mean...I think..?"

Pidge sighed, closed her book, and looked over her glasses at Keith in what could only be described as slight, yet fond, exasperation.

"Keith, has he said sorry for being an ass yet?"

Keith looked down at the covers on the bed. 

"Yeah, kinda."

Pidge's lips compressed into a thin white line.

"Hmm."

Keith picked up his own book again, but didn't open it.

"It - wasn't his fault, so -"

Pidge raised a finger. 

"It was _not_ his fault that the drink got laced, but he _should have listened_ to your attempts to warn him."

Keith half-shrugged in what she took to be agreement, so she propped her book open on her knee and began reading again.

"He did - he did apologize for - you know. Telling me to - uh, try and make friends..."

Pidge nodded, curtly. "Good. That was a dick move on his part."

Keith smiled at that. "It - wasn't the best thing he could have said."

Pidge went 'hmmm' in agreement.

"Uh...Pidge?"

She glanced back up at him over the pages of her book. 

"Yeah?"

"Um...thanks. For, you know, listening."

Pidge smiled back at him, then, a real smile, one that crinkled her nose and showed at the corners of her eyes.

"Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just parody the line from the Harry Potter books? (Which is super romantic in that context, but /not at all/ romantic in this context?)
> 
> Why yes, Yes I Did. :D
> 
> And, to quote Mushu from 'Mulan' - I liiiiiive!!!
> 
> Ah, it's good to be writing again. :-) I hope to finish the other 10 prompts...um....sometime this year. :D 
> 
> I love reading comments from readers!!! It's amazing and totally makes my day! :D :D
> 
> I'm also on Tumblr - come say hi :-)

**Author's Note:**

> I liiiiiive!!!
> 
> Ah, it's good to be writing again. :-) I hope to finish the other 10 prompts...um....sometime this year. :D 
> 
> I love reading comments from readers!!! It's amazing and totally makes my day! :D :D
> 
> I'm also on Tumblr - come say hi :-)


End file.
